Shloka 29
Adhyāya 180: Jīva, Śarīra, and the Fire Analogy (भृगु–भरद्वाज संवादः)
बहुविधमनुदृश्य चार्थहेतो: कृपणमिहार्यमनार्यमा श्रयन्तम् । उपशमरुचिरात्मवान् प्रशान्तो व्रतमिदमाजगरं शुचिश्चरामि
bahuvidham anudṛśya cārtha-hetoḥ kṛpaṇam ihāryam anāryam āśrayantam | upaśama-rucir ātmavān praśānto vratam idam ājagaraṁ śuciś carāmi ||
Wika ni Bhīṣma: “Paulit-ulit kong nasasaksihan, sa iba’t ibang paraan, na maging ang marangal na tao, alang-alang sa yaman, ay kumakapit sa isang hamak na tao sa nakaaawang paraan. Sa pagtanaw nito, ang aking panlasa ng loob ay tumungo sa katahimikan. Kaya, nang makabalik ako sa aking tunay na likas at maging ganap na payapa, isinasagawa ko nang may kalinisan ng isip ang ‘panatang ahas-piton’ (ājagara-vrata)—pamumuhay na walang balisang pagpupunyagi.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Greed for wealth can drive even the ‘noble’ into humiliating dependence on the ignoble; seeing this, one should cultivate upaśama (inner quiet) and contentment, practicing disciplined non-striving (ājagara-vrata) rather than compromising dignity and dharma for gain.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction in Śānti Parva, he reflects on social and moral decline—how people abase themselves for money—and declares his turn toward serenity and the practice of the ājagara-vrata, a model of austere contentment and freedom from anxious pursuit.